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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/25/facts-fiction-contactless-cards
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Sifting the facts from the fiction about contactless cards | Sifting the facts from the fiction about contactless cards |
| (25 days later) | |
| The reports of contactless charging errors on buses and in stores will have left some people nervous – and have prompted a flurry of theories about what's wrong with the technology and how you can protect yourself. But are people just peddling scare stories? We rounded up some comments attached to one of this week's Guardian articles and put them to two experts: Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion, which provides consultancy into electronic transactions, and Mark Austin, head of contactless at Visa Europe. | The reports of contactless charging errors on buses and in stores will have left some people nervous – and have prompted a flurry of theories about what's wrong with the technology and how you can protect yourself. But are people just peddling scare stories? We rounded up some comments attached to one of this week's Guardian articles and put them to two experts: Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion, which provides consultancy into electronic transactions, and Mark Austin, head of contactless at Visa Europe. |
| There have been stories of people edging up behind you in a bar or a bus queue and reading your card | There have been stories of people edging up behind you in a bar or a bus queue and reading your card |
| DB: I am not aware of any reputably -sourced incident of this ever happening. | DB: I am not aware of any reputably -sourced incident of this ever happening. |
| If you weren't arrested for waving your phone around people's arses on the tube, it's pointless anyway, because you can't use the data to do anything. | If you weren't arrested for waving your phone around people's arses on the tube, it's pointless anyway, because you can't use the data to do anything. |
| MA: If you have the right technical knowledge, then it's theoretically possible to get a reader to do this. | MA: If you have the right technical knowledge, then it's theoretically possible to get a reader to do this. |
| However, the only information that could be extracted is what is easily available on the front of a card, which is not enough to make a payment. | However, the only information that could be extracted is what is easily available on the front of a card, which is not enough to make a payment. |
| Any NFC (near field communication) enabled phone can be used to read a contactless card – through your pocket and wallet or purse... True? | Any NFC (near field communication) enabled phone can be used to read a contactless card – through your pocket and wallet or purse... True? |
| DB: Yes, but the question is: what is it reading? I just asked one of the guys in my office to read his Barclaycard using one of these apps, and all it gets you is the card number and expiry date which, frankly, you could read when I use the card in a shop anyway. | DB: Yes, but the question is: what is it reading? I just asked one of the guys in my office to read his Barclaycard using one of these apps, and all it gets you is the card number and expiry date which, frankly, you could read when I use the card in a shop anyway. |
| MA: A suitably skilled person could build an app to read a card, but they would only be able to take the information from the front – not the three-digit code on the back and not the pin – that's not enough to make a payment. | MA: A suitably skilled person could build an app to read a card, but they would only be able to take the information from the front – not the three-digit code on the back and not the pin – that's not enough to make a payment. |
| Is it worth using a metal shield/case to keep your contactless card, to avoid any problems? | Is it worth using a metal shield/case to keep your contactless card, to avoid any problems? |
| DB: I don't bother, although we've tested them and they do work. | DB: I don't bother, although we've tested them and they do work. |
| MA: No. Contactless is a secure technology and the chances of fraud are incredibly low. We do not consider it necessary for consumers to protect themselves in this way. | MA: No. Contactless is a secure technology and the chances of fraud are incredibly low. We do not consider it necessary for consumers to protect themselves in this way. |
| Can you disable the "aerial" running round the inside of a contactless chip and pin card by, for example, using a hole punch to break the aerial? | Can you disable the "aerial" running round the inside of a contactless chip and pin card by, for example, using a hole punch to break the aerial? |
| DB: Yes. | DB: Yes. |
| MA: I haven't tried it myself but in theory, yes – though it can damage the card for chip and pin transactions and we wouldn't recommend it. | MA: I haven't tried it myself but in theory, yes – though it can damage the card for chip and pin transactions and we wouldn't recommend it. |
| Is there a risk you could end up unwittingly paying for items being bought by the person next to you? | Is there a risk you could end up unwittingly paying for items being bought by the person next to you? |
| DB: You would have to put your card within 7cm of the reader next to you. Is it theoretically possible? Yes. Is it a realistic risk? No. | DB: You would have to put your card within 7cm of the reader next to you. Is it theoretically possible? Yes. Is it a realistic risk? No. |
| MA: No. Cards have to be within about 5cm of the reader in order to make a contactless payment. | MA: No. Cards have to be within about 5cm of the reader in order to make a contactless payment. |
| Top credit cards | Top credit cards |
| Barclaycard | Barclaycard |
| Barclaycard | |
| NatWest | NatWest |
| Powered by MoneySupermarket for the Guardian | Powered by MoneySupermarket for the Guardian |